James Rouven Keith Gamboa

Alas Pilipinas Men’s comeback spirit fell short as they dropped a gritty four-set battle to former silver medalist Pakistan, 18-25, 12-25, 25-18, 23-25, in their opening match of the 2025 AVC Men’s Volleyball Nations Cup on Tuesday, June 17, at the Isa Bin Rashid Hall in Bahrain.

Photo Courtesy of Facebook/Team Alas Pilipinas.

Despite going down 0-2, the Philippine squad showed a glimmer of hope in the third set, with Leo Ordiales erupting for an eight-point scoring barrage that sparked the team’s lone set win.

The third set started in a slow-paced deadlock at 9-all before Alas shifted gears midway through, riding the offensive duo of Steven Rotter and Ordiales to close out the frame with a 25-18 win.

Building on that momentum, the Filipinos came out swinging in the fourth, as National University standouts Buds Buddin and Peng Taguibolos anchored an early 5-0 blitz with timely blocks.

Pakistan, however, responded with a 9-2 counter-run built on tough serving and solid net defense to seize a 9-7 lead.

Alas managed to claw their way back late in the frame, trimming the deficit to just one, 21-22, after Ordiales delivered two crucial blocks during a 5-1 run that reignited their spirits .

But the world no. 49 Pakistan showed composure in crunch time, using overpowering attacks and successful block-touch challenges to seal the match and shut the door on Alas' rally attempt.

Ordiales led all scorers with 22 points off 15 attacks, five blocks, and two aces, while Rotter added 10 markers in the losing effort.

Team captain Marck Espejo, who started strong in the opening set, was sidelined for the rest of the match due to an apparent left foot injury sustained during the final rally of the first frame.

Alas Pilipinas will aim to regroup and notch their first win as they face Chinese Taipei on Wednesday.